Are the Pistons running out of gas? It has certainly seemed that way recently, after Detroit dropped two to the locals in 10 days – losing to the Knicks at the Garden a week ago Friday, then falling on Sunday to the Nets in Auburn Hills.

Not too long ago, we had to stop the presses when the Pistons lost a game. As Detroit roared out of the box to a 37-6 record, it began to seem as if the NBA Finals were merely going to be the Auburn Hills invitational. Now, it looks like the Pistons may not even enjoy home court advantage should they make the Finals. San Antonio and Dallas, both 54-16, have crept within a game and a half of 55-14 Detroit going into tonight’s key matchup between the Mavericks and Pistons.

Is Gonzaga disease visiting the Motor City? Probably not. The losses to the Knicks and Nets are explainable, and since that 37-6 start, Detroit has played .720 ball (18-7). Few of the other statistical indicators suggest that the Pistons are anything other than the team to beat when the playoffs begin.

Let’s begin by measuring their record against the NBA’s other elite teams since the beginning of February. The Mavs and Spurs have each gone 18-6 in that span; Miami and Phoenix are a half game better at 18-5. So the Pistons have slipped to playing one full game worse than the hottest teams in the league. Horrors.

The loss to the Knicks was surprising to all who didn’t see the game or read the box score. During the game, an unusually testy and physical affair that featured six technical fouls, the Pistons lost both Rasheed Wallace and Richard Hamilton – their most potent inside and perimeter threats – to ejections. When all is said and done, some 40 games may separate the Pistons and Knicks in the standings, but their talent gap in the league isn’t so wide that the better of two NBA teams can subtract two key starters and expect to win on the road.

The Nets, on the other hand, have a habit of creating problems for the Pistons, and Jason Kidd’s defense is a big reason why. Kidd has the strength and anticipation to keep Pistons point guard Chauncey Billups from getting to his favorite spots (the Nets leader is especially quick to close out any open look Billups gets from behind the arc). In Sunday night’s game, Kidd held Billups without a point until midway through the fourth quarter.

Detroit’s struggles in the backcourt were reminiscent of the Pistons-Nets playoff series two years ago, when Detroit went on to win the title. The Pistons whizzed by three of their playoff opponents, but needed seven games to vanquish the Nets. If New Jersey somehow advances to the conference finals this year, it will again be a stern test for Detroit.

Billups, Wallace, and Hamilton have all struggled with their jump shots in recent games, but right now their decline can be written off to the natural fluctuations of the long regular season. It’s important to remember that around this time 10 years ago, the 72-win-bound Bulls inexplicably lost to then-expansion Toronto. In 1972, the Lakers, en route to a 69-13 record, lost their chance to be the first NBA team to the 70-win plateau when they were beaten by worst team of all time, the 9-73 Philadelphia 76ers.Let downs are part of the 82 game season.

This week, the Pistons will face two of their final three tough games when Dallas arrives in Auburn Hills on Tuesday and Phoenix visits the Palace on Sunday. If the Pistons have shown anything during the course of the season, it has been an ability to crank it up a notch when playing the league’s elite. For instance, their defensive system hadn’t coalesced by the time either Spurs game showed up early on the schedule, yet the Pistons held San Antonio to 70 and 68 points in their two meetings.

When the Mavericks, who dealt Detroit its first and worst loss of the season in a 119-82 thrashing at America Airlines Center in November, arrive this week, they’ll be missing ace defender Josh Howard. That will leave them poorly matched against forward Tayshaun Prince, the one Piston playing better than his seasonal averages. Meanwhile, the Suns will be without Kurt Thomas, which will hinder their defense against the Pistons’ frontline. With the league’s best record at stake, expect the Pistons to turn it up this week.

After the Suns leave town, the Pistons will face only one significant challenge, an April 6 tilt with Miami, but their Western rivals have games against each other and other hot teams out west like Denver and Memphis. Thus, the Pistons should cruise to the NBA’s best record and after next Thursday, they may not face another quality opponent until the second round of the playoffs. That will give coach Flip Saunders ample time to rest his key players and refresh the team before the real march to the championship begins.

mjohnson@nysun.com